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MOO-MOW: Cat-Cow Pose

Hey guys, hopefully everyone preparing themselves (both mentally and physically) for the massive amounts of food that’s going to be consumed this Thanksgiving. To go along with your preparation, I wanted to teach you guys a stretch that will focus on spine flexibility and abdominal strength. Both of which are going to be extremely crucial to prevent back pain from holding the food baby you are going to be adopting after the Thanksgiving feast. The pose is called Cat-Cow and is extremely simple to master.

The Steps…

Start on you hands and knees with your naval in the center of your mat, knees under your hips and wrists under your shoulders (this will even out the pressure you are placing on these places in your body).

Then, transition into cow by curling your toes under and raising your tailbone while dropping your stomach. You may choose to look upward to get a fuller stretch.

After a few breathes, transition back into the starting position.

Following this, you will transition into cat by lowering the tops of your feet to the floor and rounding your spine by bringing your pelvis and tailbone forward.

These steps can then be repeated multiple times, transitioning between inhales and exhales or another pattern of breathing you find comfortable.

When doing this, you should be able to feel your vertebrae transition between the movements. This will help to ensure a good stretch of the spine.

I hope that with the proper practice of this posture and some of the previously mentioned poses (possibly child’s pose and cobra) you will be able to manage the surplus of wait that will be hitting your stomachs this Thanksgiving Break.

I read the title of your post and automatically wanted to know what types of yoga poses these were! Although the pictures kind of look uncomfortable, I might try to do them when I go home! Have a great Thanksgiving!